Latest news with #Eileen
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- General
- Irish Examiner
Glass walkway turned €495k Roches Point home into a beacon of light
AT one point in the notable communications history of Roches Point, military personnel stood atop the strategically located headland and waved their arms like madmen to send messages to approaching ships. It was before the advent of radio and the arm-waving was quite purposeful. They were spelling out letters of the alphabet via a signaling system known as semaphore, at a time when communications' systems were still quite crude. Arms are a theme at Roches Point. A coat of arms sits above the door of the middle home on one of two landmark rows of houses that lead up to the iconic, 200-year-old lighthouse. The lighthouse at Roches Point It's part of the heraldry of the Roche family, landed gentry of Norman-Irish lineage, who were once significant landowners in the area around Roche's Point. They were ennobled as the Barons Fermoy of Trabolgan, from whom the late princess of Wales, Lady Diana Spencer's maternal grandfather was descended. The Fermoys' stately home was demolished in the 1980s to make way for Trabolgan holiday park. Still standing after more than 200 years are Coastguard Cottages and Lighthouse Terrace, with the latter bearing the Roche family coats of arms above the mid-terrace home. Several properties on Lighthouse Terrace were owned in the 20th century by Michael Roche, descendant of the original family of landowners after whom Roche's Point is named. He was known for his sailing and fishing prowess, despite having just one arm. Rebecca McNeil (nee McGrath), the vendor of No 4, Lighthouse Terrace, the house featured here, says the story he put about was that it had been shot off by the Black and Tans in the 1920s. She has a vague recollection of him showing her father a newspaper clipping about the incident, but isn't entirely sure. Michael Roche died in 1992 and two brothers, the father and uncle of the vendor, bought the end-of-terrace home, which had been a post office and telegraph station in the 1800s. They spilt it in two, so that it's now Nos 4 and 4A Lighthouse Terrace. No 4 Lighthouse Terrace Rebecca's dad had a long attachment to Roche's Point, having holidayed there in his youth. It's where he met his future wife, Claire McGrath, whose mother, Eileen, had rented Mr Roche's house as a holiday home in the 1950s. Born on Clare Island, Eileen was from a lighthouse-keeping family and lived in lighthouse properties all around the Irish coast during her youth. Eileen married a Cork school teacher (Mattie McGrath) and settled in Douglas in Cork City. Her brother, Jim Hegarty, was the principal keeper at Roches Point, and he arranged for the McGraths to rent the old post office from Michael Roche in the early 1950s. 'As Mattie was a teacher, they would spend the entire summer holidays there with their six kids during the '50s and early '60s, and Eileen would continue to spend summers there after Mattie passed away and the children grew up,' their granddaughter, Rebecca, says. The house was 'an absolute wreck' when her father and uncle bought it, but they did enough work to turn the divided property into two perfectly adequate holiday homes. 'My parents had emigrated to London in the '70s and when I was growing up, I loved coming here for the summer. It was so carefree; we'd be gone all day, fishing from the rocks, lighting bonfires on the beach,' Rebecca says. In the late noughties, when her parents were looking at retirement, they undertook major renovations at No 4, aka Dun Rossin, transforming the rough-and-ready holiday home in to a sophisticated coastal bolthole. 'They got an architect to come up with ideas and a local builder to do the renovations and it took about a year and a half,' says Rebecca. Bay windows were installed to give a wide-angled view of the harbour. The layout was changed (a kitchen and courtyard switched positions). Kitchen overlooks a courtyard A new kitchen was fitted. Central heating was installed, a head-to toe makeover was carried out, and the pièce de résistance — a glass walkway — was installed upstairs. 'People walking along the terrace probably think the houses are quite dark, but at No 4, the glass walkway makes a huge difference,' Rebecca says. The interior is impressively crisp now, a bright, light-filled property with amazing harbour views from the bay windows. Light comes in from an internal courtyard, too, accessed from both the kitchen and the living room. Two of four upstairs bedrooms come with en suites. There's a downstairs guest loo and a utility. Outdoors is also smartly presented. The garden, across the narrow road, is tiered and includes paved patio close to the road, and, at a lower level, a large deck area with ringside seats to passing cruise liners as they glide through the nearby mouth of the harbour en route to dock in Cobh. The lower deck at Lighthouse Terrace Cobh, Camden Fort, and Carlisle Fort are all visible from Roches Point. In 1928, the residents of Lighthouse Terrace were witness to the sinking of the White Star Line's RMS Celtic, after it was grounded on the rocks at Roches Point. Every home on the terrace has salvage from the stricken liner, including No 4. You can see the salvaged porthole inside the front door. Adrianna Hegarty, of Hegarty Properties, is selling No 4 and she's expecting strong interest from holiday-home seekers and retirees, including from the UK. She describes the terrace as 'an exclusive coastal setting, steeped in maritime legacy, nestled beside the iconic Roche's Point Lighthouse, and just a short distance from the village of Whitegate'. Picture: David Creedon 'Whether you are drawn by the heritage, the setting or the serenity, this is one of the rarest properties to come to market on the East Cork coast,' the agent says. Her price for the well-insulated (B3 BER), 1400 sq ft home is €495,000. VERDICT: A terrific coastal bolthole that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.
Irish Independent
4 days ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Galway Market fondly remembers ‘dear friend and fellow trader'
Galway Market traders have honoured their 'dear friend and fellow market trader' following her passing. Eileen O'Neill passed away on Monday, June 16, leaving behind an indelible mark on the Galway community. She was well known for the colourful hats she made and sold at St Nicholas' Market as well as her great chats, free spirit and vibrancy. In a tribute posted on Eileen is described as a 'colourful character', remembered for her 'kindness and generosity'. The full tribute reads: 'Our beautiful Eileen passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family. She will be fondly remembered for her colourful character, kindness and generosity to all she encountered on her life's journey. 'Predeceased by her parents Dan and Doreen O'Donoghue and her first husband Robert Gregory Tyson. 'Eileen will be fondly remembered by her heartbroken husband Ollie, her siblings Catherine, Eamonn, Josephine, Maureen, Fionnuala, Niall and Geoffrey, nieces, nephews and extended family and many friends.' On Saturday, a table of tributes was set up for the Galway woman at her former workplace. 'We have a table of tributes, and a book of condolences set out for our dear friend and fellow market trader Eileen O'Neill, who passed away this week,' a post from Galway Market said. 'Eileen's colourful rainbow hats were an asset to the market, and she will be sadly missed. RIP Eileen from your fellow traders.' Comments beneath the post remember Eileen as a 'lovely lady'. 'Eileen, your legacy is a beautiful tapestry of love, kindness, and warmth. You will be cherished in our hearts forever. My thoughts are with your family and friends during this difficult time,' one comment read. Eileen's family have said donations, if desired, can be directed to The Claddagh War in University Hospital Galway.
New York Post
21-06-2025
- New York Post
Seniors find they have to have their heads on a swivel to stay safe
The most vulnerable New Yorkers are taking it on the chin – and everywhere else – as felony assaults against seniors have doubled since 2019, The Post has learned. The NYPD has recorded 1,228 felony assaults against people aged 65 and over so far this year — compared to only 608 in pre-Covid 2019. The shocking surge comes as assaults in NYC overall are slightly down, by .3%. Advertisement 7 Caregiver Krystyna Gajewska, 66, and Eileen, 87, make sure they're home by dark. Helayne Seidman Things have gotten so bad that some adult children have hired aides to keep their elderly parents from being Gotham's next crime victim. An Upper West Side resident and retired principal who identified herself as Eileen, 87, said her son hired someone to be with her when she takes walks. 'When you get to be 88, you realize you have to protect yourself from your environment in ways younger people don't know,' the octogenarian said. 'Because they are not as easily assaulted as somebody my age.' Advertisement Attacks on the elderly so far this year run the gamut from random punches to bludgeonings to slashings, according to the NYPD. Some of the most shocking include: A 66-year-old woman was struck in the head by a stranger wielding a golf club around 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 25 in an unprovoked attack in the subway system, police said. The woman was left with a gash on the left side of her head, police said. An 86-year-old woman was shoved from behind into a pole — breaking her teeth — in a random attack near the exit of Morton Williams on Third Avenue near East 63rd Street on March 23, cops said. A 67-year-old man was slashed in the the head by a stranger with a large knife while riding the subway in an unproked attack on a C train in Brooklyn on March 15, cops said. The suspect was arrested when passengers flagged down cops at the next stop. A 72-year-old woman was randomly kicked down a staircase at the Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue subway station in Queens just after 11 p.m. March 1, cops said. The attacker said nothing before attacking the victim, sending her tumbling backwards down the stairs, cops said. The badly bruised victim was taken to the hospital. 7 A 67-year-old man was slashed in the head with a large knife while riding on a C train in Brooklyn. David Burns Advertisement The NYPD has made arrests in 962 of the 1,228 assaults on seniors this year — 78% of cases, a spokesperson said. More than half of the people arrested had a prior arrest record. The spokesperson stressed that the entire criminal justice system has to work to bring the assaults under control. 'The NYPD has played their part, arresting individuals who are assaulting vulnerable, elderly New Yorkers,' the spokesperson said. 'Our city must be safe for all New Yorkers, regardless of their age, and we need every aspect of the criminal justice system to play their part to ensure that we stop the revolving door for recidivists.' 7 Police were seeking a man who allegedly pushed an 86-year-old woman to the ground in Manhattan. DCPI Advertisement Poland native Krystyna Gajewska, 66, works as Eileen's caregiver, said the two are vigilant. 'The bottom line — we don't go at night,' she said. 'We stay home.' 7 A woman was struck in the head with a golf club in lower Manhattan. DCPI The caregiver called for more cops walking the beat. 7 Police made arrests in the majority of the assaults on seniors so far this year, according to the NYPD. David Burns 'Not sitting in the car — walking around, looking,' she said, describing what good cops do. 'There are so many [people] that have mental problems. There's so many homeless.' Upper West Sider Paul Trahan also makes sure to be home when night falls. 'I've made it a point to stay home at night,' said Trahan, 86. 'I'm not nearly as well physically able to deal with any such problem now. So that's all the more reason for me to stay home — and say the right prayers.' Advertisement 7 Paul Trahan, 86, only goes out during the day to avoid trouble. Helayne Seidman Bronx native Gloria Wiggins, 80, had some advice for seniors: keep your head on a swivel. 'My neck is killing me,' she said. 'I'm constantly looking around and watching.' Riverdale, Bronx, resident George Timko, 77, was saddened to hear about an increase in assaults against the elderly but said he didn't plan to make any changes to his life in the city. Advertisement 7 Bronx resient George Timko, 77, said that he wasn't aware there was an increase in assaults against seniors but that he still feels safe. Helayne Seidman 'I don't feel less safe,' he said. 'I've lived most of my life in the city … I go about my day in the city.' One policing expert suggested a public awareness campaign to make sure seniors know they're in danger. Advertisement 'You can't have a 100% increase mid-year without acknowledging that this is a significant issue,' said Chris Herrmann, a former NYPD criminologist who is now a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. 'I wouldn't fearmonger and say 'stay indoors' but the more simple stuff,' he said. 'Spend more time in groups, be aware of your surroundings.'
Metro
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Coronation Street icon who left soap after 25 years lands exciting new role
Coronation Street legend Sue Cleaver may have only just left her role as Eileen Grimshaw on the cobbles, but already she has her next job lined up. Eileen left Weatherfield for a new life in Thailand earlier this month, after confessing that she had fallen out of love with George Shuttleworth (Tony Maudsley). Having been given the chance to invest in son Jason Grimshaw's bar, Eileen decided to make her trip to Thailand permanent. Sue announced her exit at the beginning of the year, explaining that she wanted to try new things. 'The door is still firmly open, but as I reached my 60th year, I decided it was time to embrace change, look for new adventures, and live fearlessly,' Sue said. Now, she is doing just that as she joins the cast of Snake in the Grass at the Theatr Clwyd and Octagon Theatre Bolton. She is set to star alongside Nicola Stephenson and Lisa Zahra when the production hits the stage this autumn. Sue spent 25 years on Coronation Street, and previously revealed that she was 'privileged' to have done so. Talking to Metro at the British Soap Awards, Sue's co-star Gareth Pierce, who plays on-screen son Todd Grimshaw, opened up about her departure. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video 'It's so sad,' he told me. 'Sue's amazing and she really welcomed me in, as well. I screen-tested with Sue as well as with Dan Brocklebank and Peter Ash when I was coming in and that was probably one of the things that got me the job was that they both treated it as we were just filming those scenes by that stage. More Trending 'I was so lucky that Sue was so generous that we fell into the mother/son dynamic very easily. That's testament to her as much as anything that I did. 'We're hugely going to miss Sue. She's brilliant. Eileen is such an iconic character. But I think she's also a brilliantly equipped actress to see what else is out there. I think it's been a burning desire of Sue's for a while. I think she'll be brilliant in whatever she does.' View More » This article was originally published on 9th June 2025. If you've got a soap or TV story, video or pictures get in touch by emailing us soaps@ – we'd love to hear from you. Join the community by leaving a comment below and stay updated on all things soaps on our homepage. MORE: Natalie Cassidy slams 'disgusting and disgraceful' fake news story MORE: Coronation Street legend to stage TV return just weeks after exit MORE: Coronation Street star devastated as business burns down in fire
Irish Examiner
21-06-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Letters to the Editor: Death trap food aid centres in Gaza
The Israel-US Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) was first registered in February this year and its fewer food aid centres set up on May 26 in Gaza are described as death traps overseen by Israel's military and armed contractors. Last week, Jens Laerke, the UN spokesperson for the coordination of humanitarian affairs, said the GHF 'is not delivering supplies safely to those in need' and it was a 'failure' from a humanitarian point of view. Exhausted Palestinians who walk off the correct route to the GHF aid centres or linger too long in despair after aid runs out are shot at and killed daily. Tanks are also used to fire at civilians. These are supposed to be warning shots. The banning of international media by Israel from Gaza since the war began in October 2023 is a key factor as to why the war in Gaza is so extreme as it is now in the summer of 2025. If, for example, Britain's Channel 4 or the US' CBS News was in Gaza reporting on the war, violence, deaths, and brutal injuries of civilians with their videos of hospitals hit by Israel's missile attacks with some of the dead and wounded medics, nurses, doctors, patients, children or babies; it would have had a faster impact on governments calling on Israel to end the targeting of civilians in the most miserable war of the 21st century. Experienced aid agencies run by the UN, Britain, etc, have been more restricted in Gaza since March. There are requests for the UN to be let fully back in to deliver aid safely. Israel has a right as any country to ensure its security — but daily, casual killings by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) of civilians in Gaza is truly reprehensible. All moral lines are violated in this war. No protection for the civilian population. I hope Hamas will release the remaining hostages it took into Gaza in October 2023. They too endure terrible conditions. Mary Sullivan, College Rd, Cork Help sought in seeking relatives from Cork City I'm trying to find out who my mum's relative was who came over from Ireland or America. I think it would have been a cousin. Her name was Eileen — although I'm not sure of her surname — she could have been Eileen Geaney, Eileen Quinn, Eileen Foley, or Eileen Fenton. These would have been her maiden surnames. My mother's maiden name was Catherine Fenton, born in 1927. Her mother's maiden name was Catherine Quinn, born in Cork in 1900. Her last address in the city was 56 Blarney St in 1920. Her father was Richard Quinn, whose last known address was 11 Winter's Hill before he died in 1917. My mother's father was John Christopher Fenton, born in 1897 in Broad Lane, Cork. His father was Michael Fenton, and his mother was Margaret. Does anyone have a relative that was called Eileen and was possibly born around 1927 give or take a few years and used to visit my grandmother at 78, Butt Park Rd, Honicknowle, Plymouth, England? Last known visit was the summer of 1971. I appreciate any information regarding Eileen's relationship to the above mentioned, which can be sent to: cathymitchell1959@ Cathy Mitchell, Torpoint, Cornwall Government clearly in a dilemma over Israel Following several debates in the Dáil over the past weeks, the Government clearly has a dilemma on its hands. Quoting legal obstacles, they voted twice against the introduction of restrictions on the Central Bank of Ireland regarding their facilitation of the sale of Israeli war bonds on the EU market, while at the same time unequivocally describing the slaughter and starvation carried out by Israel in Gaza as war crimes and a genocide. While legal constraints must be considered, the ongoing genocide in Gaza demands that the Government exploits all possible means to align the institutional framework with their admirably strong moral stance. If this prompts a legal challenge at EU level, so be it. The situation is perhaps well summarised in the words of the American philosopher Henry David Thoreau in 1849: 'If it [the law] is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law. Let your life be a counter-friction to stop the machine [in this instance the mechanisms of national or EU government]. What I have to do is to see, at any rate, that I do not lend myself to the wrong which I condemn.' Tom Butterly, Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin Time for general boycott and sanctions on Israel Given the deranged continuing assault and starvation of the civilian population of Gaza by the Netanyahu regime, is the Occupied Territories Bill still fit for purpose? Is it not now necessary to have a complete general boycott and sanctions imposed on Israel, rather than just on the occupied territories, as long as this regime remains in power and continues extreme policies that will render the hopes for a two-state solution impossible to deliver. Andrew Feinstein, a Jewish former prominent figure in the ANC [African National Congress], has said before that Israeli apartheid of Palestinians is 'far more brutal than anything we saw or experienced in South Africa'. The world was ready to impose strict sanctions on apartheid South Africa, so why not now on the rampaging vengeance of Netanyahu in Gaza, the accelerated internationally illegal annexation of Palestinian lands in the West Bank, as well as all the humiliating day-to-day repressions of the apartheid system? Netanyahu has also made a terrible situation worse by his attacks on Iran thus further confusing the moral ambivalence of the European and G7 powers. Instead of the Western democracies, with some notable exceptions, inexplicably enabling the genocidal impunity of Netanyahu, they should be doing everything in their power to contain and stop him. Shame on them. Cynthia Carroll, Newport, Co Tipperary Mitigating the impact of Cork-Limerick motorway The Cork to Limerick motorway is a vital piece of infrastructure. However, the environmental impact of the project should be a major concern. Whichever contractor is appointed, it should be fine if the road surface was built to German autobahn standard — without a repeat of instances of surface break-up and drainage problems seen on previous motorways. I hope that vast numbers of trees and shrubs will be planted to screen it from surrounding areas (a good mix of evergreen as well, because deciduous trees look rather bleak for five months of the year). As well as provisions for farmers, I hope that under and overpasses are provided so that wildlife can move easily across the motorway route. In addition, competitions should be held for sculptors to design artistic installations for sites on the route Martin Ray, Deansgrange, Dublin No change of use required for funeral home In relation to your online article — 'Undertakers lodge plans to convert vacant former bank in Cork into funeral home' (Irish Examiner, June 17) — it perplexes me that the developer should require change of use planning permission for a facility that has dealt with debt since the early 1980s. John Deasy, Ballincollig, Cork Planning to be a landlord was not 'accidental' Thank you for publishing the article by Kevin O'Donoghue on his experience as a landlord. It is an insightful one. One that we must learn from as a country so our 'muscle memory', as he describes it, is attuned to these hazards in the future. He's very honest about his purchase of four houses in rural North Cork in 2003. 'Our plan was simple,' he wrote. 'We would use the Germans' money to buy, hold for five years, and having had the benefits of an uplift, sell the properties, pay off the mortgages and retain the profit to be rolled over in the next adventure.' He implies that he is an 'accidental landlord'. I've encountered many accidental landlords from the mid-noughties. They are people who purchased a property, often to live in themselves. They may later have had to move for work or family and, being caught by negative equity after the bust, ended up renting the property as a home to someone else. Mr O'Donoghue is not one of these. By his own description, his plan in 2003 was to purchase the properties for rent and flip these at a profit. Housing, he wrote, 'is a State responsibility'. Now, after issuing notices to quit for reason of sale to four households, he acknowledges those living there 'will find it next to impossible to locate alternative accommodation'. He says he 'never signed up to be that f**ing b**ard'. Let that permeate our muscle memory. Oliver Doyle, Montenotte, Cork Read More Letters to the Editor: Mussel farm will destroy Kinsale area
